Style over substance and not in a good way

Rating: 4/10 (30 November 2014)

Robots hit monsters. Am I meant to care? Guillermo del Toro's latest project involves humans controlling enormous robots and beating up Godzilla style monsters emerging from the ocean. It's very satisfying that this didn't actually do that well in America, because this is just total formula. We don't need movies like this. We've seen it all before. This action garbage has silver linings here and there. Visually, it's interesting and has plenty of awesome imagery. It's got a strong colour palette. Del Toro's direction is merely acceptable, but there is a sense of wonder in the movie, and the CGI genuinely looks great. In terms of style and visuals, the movie is quite strong and not everything can be deep and meaningful. Many will enjoy this, especially if they see it on a big screen. Pacific Rim frequently feels like a loving tribute to its genre and for some it will be a dream come true. At least it's a bit lighter and less serious than some other blockbusters these days. For some this could be a good antidote to Man Of Steel.
I saw this on the small screen so maybe I'm biased. The thing which lets PR down is that it's not just robots hitting monsters. There is an hour between the first and second big robot battles and the film has the cheek to try and emotionally engage us with these pathetic, one dimensional characters. Seriously? The film may look great, but it's so cartoony and flat (While pretending it isn't flat by shoving loads of meaningless backstory down our throats) it's could have been some awful 2 hour cartoon on CBBC. The acting is pretty bad and even Idris Elba isn't that good. The movie just isn't original and since it's actually pretty boring much of the time (I don't care about what happened to the female protagonist when she was a kid!). Del Toro, who also made Pan's Labyrinth, another very overpraised film, is clearly popular because he's a bit different. Difference in modern films is a great things but there's only so long I can look at creatures, dark fantasy and loads of boring weirdness before I give up and watch Godzilla instead.
4/10